A swimmer's performance can be significantly impacted by the configuration of their swimwear. Numerous aspects of conventional swimwear negatively affect the swimmer's range of motion and increase drag, leading to reduced performance.
The leading edges of known swimwear, that is, the edges that are leading when a user is swimming through the water, e.g., the neck opening, armholes, and waistline, can often flair open away from the user's body and scoop water as the swimmer moves through the water. The increased mass from the water scooped into the swimwear can cause a great deal of drag and, therefore, have a significant negative impact on the swimmer's performance. Additionally, these leading edges often are formed by folding over and stitching the material used to form the swimwear, resulting in a relatively thick and hydrodynamically inefficient border of the swimwear that also increases drag.
Known swimwear is typically stretched over the user's body, and may be secured with a closure or fastening device such as a zipper, snap, clasp, etc. Such fastening devices can create various problems for the swimmer. For example, zippers do not stretch, thereby limiting the flexibility of the swimwear. The flexibility of a swimsuit may also be hampered by other aspects of known swimwear, including shoulder straps and armhole openings. The starting positions for swimmers, as well as their arm motions during swimming, are extreme, and require a great deal of flexibility in the swimwear. Thus, any reduction in the flexibility of the swimsuit can reduce the swimmer's range of motion and negatively affect the swimmer's performance. Additionally, snaps, clasps, and other fastening devices create hydrodynamic drag, resulting in reduced performance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an article of swimwear with a resilient seal about an aperture that reduces or overcomes some or all of the difficulties inherent in prior known devices. Particular objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, those who are knowledgeable or experienced in this field of technology, in view of the following disclosure of the invention and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments.